Skipper Andy Keogh is quietly confident that Glory can build upon last weekend’s 3-1 win over Western Sydney Wanderers by securing another positive result against Adelaide United on Saturday.
The visitors will head across the border buoyed not only by securing three points that kept them firmly in finals contention, but also the contribution made on debut by new arrivals Dino Djulbic and Neil Kilkenny.
And Keogh feels that the positive impact made by the January signings goes well beyond their performances on match day.
“You expect the new guys to come in and make everyone better and lift competition for places,” he said.
“A couple of years ago it was Shane Lowry and Krisztian Vadocz who arrived. They freshened the whole place up and Dino and Neil have done the same since they came in.
“They both made a difference in the game last weekend and obviously they’ll be looking to back that up again against Adelaide.”
The Irishman took his tally for the season to four with a stunning strike in the Wanderers game and was unsurprisingly delighted to be back among the goals.
“It was a good feeling to get back on the scoresheet, especially as the chances have been pretty minimal recently,” he said.
“It’s always nice to see them go in and they look great when they go in off the woodwork, but I wouldn’t have cared if it had gone in off my backside to be honest!”
In terms of Saturday’s clash with the Reds, meanwhile, Keogh feels that he knows what to expect from a side that Glory have already met twice this season.
“Adelaide are well organised and are a passing team that are very fit,” he said. “We’ve beaten them and they’ve beaten us in the previous two games, so it’s going to be a really competitive game over there.”
On the team news front, Marc Warren, Alex Grant and Mitch Nichols could all come back into selection contention this week having recovered from injury, leaving Andreu (calf), Adam Taggart (hamstring) and Joseph Mills (suspended) as Glory’s notable absentees.
Glory and the Reds have, as Keogh observed, claimed a win apiece from their two meetings so far this term, but the WA side have enjoyed the better of the recent clashes at Coopers Stadium, losing just one of the last four.
United currently sit three places and six points above Glory, although they have actually been stronger on the road than they have at home this term.
Marco Kurz’s men have collected just eight points from eight games at Coopers Stadium compared to 17 from ten away games.
Match Details
Saturday, 3 February 2018
Adelaide United v Perth Glory
Coopers Stadium, Adelaide
Kick-Off: 4.50 PM (WST) (7:20 PM Local)
Referee: Chris Beath
Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Cream
Assistant Referee 2: Paul Cetrangolo
Fourth Official: Alex King
Video Assistant Referee: Craig Zetter
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS 501 from 7.45pm (AEDT), ONE from 7:45pm and Sky Sport 3 (New Zealand)
Radio Broadcast: myfootballnation.com (5AA, 1116SEN, 6PR (NTS Digital)). ABC News on Radio, Grandstand Digital, Online & via the ABC Listen App – A-League Live.
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #ADLvPER #PlayFootball
To purchase tickets visit www.aleague.com.au/tickets
Adelaide United squad: 1.Daniel MARGUSH (gk), 2.Michael MARRONE, 5.Taylor REGAN, 7.Ryan KITTO, 8.ISAÍAS (C), 12.Mark OCHIENG, 14.George BLACKWOOD, 16.Nathan KONSTANDOPOULOS, 17.Nikola MILEUSNIC, 18.Lachlan BROOK, 19.Ben GARUCCIO, 20.Paul IZZO (gk), 22.Ersan GÜLÜM, 23.Jordan ELSEY, 24.Jordan O’DOHERTY, 25.Apostolos STAMATELOPOULOS, 29.Ryan STRAIN, 37.Daniel ADLUNG
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 8.ISAÍAS (returns from suspension), 18.Lachlan BROOK (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 6.Vince LIA (knee), 9.Baba DIAWARA (quad), 11.Johan ABSALONSEN (gluteus), 21.Tarek ELRICH (knee – long term)
Perth Glory squad: 2.Alex GRANT, 3.Marc WARREN, 4.Shane LOWRY, 6.Mitch NICHOLS, 7.Joel CHIANESE, 8.Xavi TORRES, 9.Andy KEOGH (c), 13.Nick FEELY (gk), 14.Chris HAROLD, 15.Brandon WILSON, 17.Diego CASTRO, 20.Jake BRIMMER, 23.Scott NEVILLE, 26.Jacob ITALIANO, 29.Jeremy WALKER, 33.Liam REDDY (gk), 66.Dino DJULBIC, 88.Neil KILKENNY
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 2.Alex GRANT (returns from injury), 3.Marc WARREN (returns from injury), 6.Mitch NICHOLS (returns from injury)
Outs: 16.Joseph MILLS (suspended)
Unavailable: 16.Joseph MILLS (suspended),18.Andreu GUERAO (calf – 1-2 weeks), 22.Adam TAGGART (hamstring – 1-2 weeks)
#CREATEDESTINY
